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COMMITTEE & TASK 
FORCE REPORTS

Diversity, Equity, and 
Inclusion
Evan E. Boyd, Committee Chair

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

• Evan E. Boyd, United Lutheran Seminary, Chair
• Drew Baker, Claremont School of Theology
• Ondrea Murphy, Delaware State University
• Lee Staman, Center for Action and Contemplation
• Alice Song, Fuller Theological Seminary
• Donna Wells, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
• Christine Fruin, Staff Liaison

The 2018–2019 year for the Atla Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 
Committee was spent reassessing aspiration projects and laying 
groundwork for future planning and projects in the midst of several 
committee membership and Atla staffing changes related to the 
committee. As such, the committee was able to have a few programs 
during the year. 

In particular, the committee was able to develop several monthly 
blog posts focused on helping the membership learn ways to support 
the diversity they may encounter in their institutions. Drs. James 
Estes and Kirk VanGilder celebrated Deaf History Month, providing 
a short summary of deaf and Deaf community history in the United 
States and ways to better meet the needs of deaf patrons as well as 



2  ANNUAL YEARBOOK

providing resources for learning more about deaf culture and vari-
ous organizations serving the religious needs of the Deaf and hard-
of-hearing. In addition, Drew Baker celebrated Asian American and 
Pacific American Heritage Month in a similar fashion. The commit-
tee hopes to continue providing these resources in the coming years.

In 2019, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion scholarship received 
over 25 well-qualified applicants from ALA-accredited programs in the 
United States and Canada. The 2019 recipient is University of Toronto 
student Tomoko Shida. Shida is currently pursuing a Master of Infor-
mation degree at the University of Toronto’s iSchool. A first-generation 
Japanese Canadian Anglican, she has seen firsthand the harm that 
can be done when discourse surrounding theological doctrine and 
praxis fails to grapple with the social, cultural, and political realities 
of Indigenous and diasporic communities, as well as those outside of 
the global West. A longstanding concern for her, therefore, is seeing 
that the Christian church confronts the wrongs it has committed in the 
past and seeing that it participates actively in the work of reconcilia-
tion both domestically and globally. She believes that archivists and 
librarians can play an important role in this, by ensuring that evidence 
of past wrongs is not destroyed or concealed, and by amplifying Indig-
enous and international voices and texts within library collections.

During the 2019 conference in Vancouver, the committee sought 
out Alex MacCutchan of the Vancouver Public Library, who presented 
on VPL’s project to review and update its services in order to be more 
inclusive for members of the Trans, Gender Variant, and Two-Spirit 
communities. This session explored the steps VPL undertook as it 
updated its programming, public services, facilities, and staff train-
ing to better meet the needs of these patrons. We thank Alex for 
presenting on this important topic.

During the coming year, the committee hopes to rebuild and 
reenergize around its work and looks forward to a successful year 
continuing to advance “Atla’s culture that affirms the intrinsic value 
of all members regardless of racial, cultural, age, career stage/profes-
sional experience, sexual orientation, gender expression, expression 
of religious tradition, disabilities, or socioeconomic differences.”


